World Renowned Artist Anish Kapoor Exhibits His Works of Art in India for the First Time

India's ruling Congress party President Sonia Gandhi, right, with London based artist Anish Kapoor, second right, at the inauguration of the latter's exhibition in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010. AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi.

Kapoors unique style and Indian heritage have combined to make him one of the most engaging and distinctive artists in the world and the exhibition will be the first ever showcase of his work in the country of his birth. The exhibition has been organised over two sites in New Delhi and Mumbai and is the largest and most ambitious exhibition project ever to be developed on Kapoors work.

It features a selection of sculptures and installations which span the breadth of the artists career, from his early pigment-based sculptures of the 1980s right through to his most recent wax installations.

The exhibitions are displayed in two venues: the newly renovated NGMA, New Delhi (Anish Kapoor show is the first major exhibition to be held in the gallerys newly constructed Exhibition Hall); and the Mehboob film studios, Bandra, Mumbai. Each exhibition focuses on a different strand of Kapoors practice, with each show complementing the other to form an overall picture of the diversity and energy within his oeuvre. Both exhibitions feature works which were included in the recent, record-breaking exhibition of Kapoors work at the Royal Academy, London, which attracted over 275,000 visitors in less than three months.

Ruth Gee, Regional Director British Council says, Art is food for the mind. Anish Kapoors work provides intellectual stimulation and visual delight. We are delighted to have played a part in creating this milestone exhibition in Delhi and Mumbai. It is a proud moment in our cultural relationship with India.

I am delighted that what we had been dreaming of since the past nine years has finally fructified. The Anish kapoor exhibition is one of the largest projects we are doing since the Picasso exhibition in 2001, not just in its scale of the actual works, but also in terms of the international stature of the artist, including partnerships amongst various organisations, and its outreach, Prof. Rajeev Lochan, Director of the NGMA said.

It is indeed a proud moment to be able to celebrate the works of Anish Kaopor, world renowned artist, in the country of his origin. I am sure that large audiences will not only be greatly benefited by the visual treat, but the thought provoking forms and feelings will give a new relevance to what is contemporary in art. That is precisely what the NGMA stands for. We are very thankful to our partners- the Anish Kapoor studio, and the British Council, and to the Ministry of Culture to support us in making this a reality, he added.

Anish Kapoor has been based in London since 1973, when he left India to pursue his art education in London, firstly at the Hornsey College of Art (1973-77) and then at Chelsea School of Art (1977-78). Kapoor quickly gained recognition as an artist with a unique style and character, and his use of new and unusual materials (such as the brightly coloured pigments which he began using following a visit to India in 1979), coupled with a new, non-Western visual language helped to situate him as one of the most vibrant and unique sculptors working in the UK. By 1985, only seven years after graduating from Chelsea College of Art, Kapoor had produced solo shows for major galleries in Paris, London, Rotterdam, Liverpool, Lyon, New York and Basel and his notoriety on the world stage continued to expand. In 1990, Kapoor was awarded the prestigious Turner Prize and in 1991, he was selected to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale, where he was awarded the Premio Duemila prize for the best exhibition. His latest commission is to design the spectacular new public attraction in the Olympic Park.

The Anish Kapoor exhibitions will coincide with the India Art Summit, which runs from 20-23 January 2011, and attracts approximately 40,000 visitors annually.